Our View: County Board errs in vote

Published: Saturday, May 25, 2013 5:30 a.m. CST

The Northwest Herald Editorial Board offers this week’s thumbs up and thumbs down:

Thumbs down: To the 16 McHenry County Board members who voted in favor of adding Cathy Ferguson to the Mental Health Board. Ferguson was the candidate brought to the board by Chairwoman Tina Hill outside of the committee process. By approving Ferguson, board members endorsed Hill’s heavy-handed method of going around the committee selection process.

Thumbs up: To the Johnsburg girls soccer team for reaching the Class 1A state final four. The Skyhawks were the only public school in the Class 1A semifinals. They won a regional final over Richmond-Burton, which reached the 2012 state finals.

Thumbs down: To the Illinois General Assembly, which managed to let another week go by without making any significant progress on public pension reform. Illinois’ five public pension systems are underfunded by nearly $1 billion. As each day passes, that number increases by an additional $17 million. We’ve harped on this issue a lot in recent weeks and months. We continue to do so because no other issue matters in state government until meaningful pension reform passes. It means everything to the financial health of this state. Did we mention that the legislative session ends Friday?

Thumbs up: To the local residents who serve as foster families for children in need. May is National Foster Care Month, which is aimed at bringing awareness to the more than 400,000 children in the foster care system in the United States. In Illinois, the Department of Child and Family Services takes protective custody of about 4,400 children a year, with about 30 of those from McHenry County. These are children in need of a stable, loving home, and we thank those willing to open their homes and hearts to children who often desperately need both.